Long Slow Distance

I feel the long slow distance approach should be hard on your bodily systems. For an example, you run half marathons, therefore you should be running around 15 - 18 miles at a pace 2-3 mins per mile slower than your running pace for the half marathon.This is what I am doing at the moment and it is working. Is there anyone out there who agrees/disagrees?

3 minutes a mile slower would be pretty slow if you were doing 6-8 minute miles anyway.

Is there any proven benefit in running slower than you could comfortably run without shagging yourself for the rest of the week? I know a lot of training schedules argue for this kind of very slow running but how slow should slow be before it becomes worthless - or is this all about heart rates ?

Heart rates are a guide. If you wear a heart rate monitor, your slow runs should be between 70 - 75% of your maximum heart rate. Anything lower then you are doing a recovery run, which is more benificial than having a day off training.

Running 2-3 mins slower than your pace for a half marathon have great physiological adaptations to training. This type of training builds your plumbing system (heart, blood vessels, blood volume, capillaries, increases the respiritory system). It lays the foundation for speed and power work. Too many people neglect this form of training, I certainly do this every week during the early season, then around 10 days during my racing season.

LSD session's are some of my favourite's. Out in the countryside for a few hours enjoyment done at "talking pace". Once you start to run over 30min every form of runnning is worthwhile. I don't belive in junk miles. Top marathon runners put in 100's of miles every week & I'm sure they don't do junk miles. I've run PB's after a week of 70-80 miles. I'm looking to run 100miles myself by christmas week & then 100+ weeks until the spring. One of the best thing's I've ever done is train twice a day.What is important is to be sensible & build up slowly. Eat a good diet & get lots of sleep.I'm lucky that I don't get injured & that all this running fit's into my life style i.e all my friends run & my family do.But if you want to improve simply RUN MOREThese are my veiws I'm sure lots will disagree.Most of all enjoy what you are doing & be HAPPY.

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